Single-center retrospective study of clinical and molecular features of early-onset pancreatic adenocarcinoma

The incidence of early-onset pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (EOPC; diagnosed before age 51 years) is rising in developed countries. A retrospective study at Institut Gustave Roussy (Villejuif, France) compared clinical and molecular features of EOPC versus nEOPC (diagnosed after age 50 years). EOPC was diagnosed more frequently at advanced stage and liver metastases were more prevalent at diagnosis. EOPC patients did not have longer overall survival than nEOPC (18.1 months from diagnosis for both groups), contrary to previous reports. EOPC displayed specific molecular features, including lower tumor mutational burden (1.42 versus 2.95 mut/Mb), fewer mutations in CDKN2A/B, and a lower prevalence of basal-like subtype (18.8% versus 36.8%). The authors conclude that EOPC compared with nEOPC was diagnosed more frequently at a metastatic stage and displayed specific molecular features.